Gamo, boarding from bow and waist, the boarders at the bow had their faces blackened to look like pirates. The Spanish faltered at this, and were then set-upon by the party that had boarded from the waist. There was a hard-fought battle between the two crews, until Cochrane called down to the doctor, at the time the only person on Speedy, ordering him to send the rest of the men over. At the same time, he ordered the Spanish colours to be torn down. Thinking that their officers had surrendered the ship, the remaining Spanish seamen stopped fighting. Aftermath The British had lost three men killed and nine wounded, while the Spanish had lost 14 killed and 41 wounded, with the rest captured; a total casualty list exceeding Speedys entire complement. The British then secured the Spanish prisoners below deck and made their way back to Port Mahon, Minorca. Finding that he had been beaten by such an inferior foe, the Spanish second-in-command asked Cochrane for a certificate assuring him that he had done all he could to defend his ship. Cochrane obliged, with the equivocal wording that he had 'conducted himself like a true Spaniard'. El Gamo was subsequently sold to the ruler of Algiers as a merchantman. In fiction This battle inspired Patrick O'Brian in his novel Master and Commander, where, as the first major battle led by his main character Jack Aubrey, in a very similar manner, the brig HMS Sophie escapes from and then lures and captures the Spanish Xebeque-frigate Cacafuego. References Bibliography External links HMS Speedy vs El Gamo Thomas Cochrane – the sea-captain and inspiration for Horatio Hornblower Conflicts in 1801 1801 in Spain Naval battles involving the United Kingdom Naval battles involving Spain Naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars May 1801 events